''Joseph the Carpenter'' is an

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

Georges de La Tour Georges de La Tour (13 March 1593 – 30 January 1652) was a French Baroque painter, who spent most of his working life in the Duchy of Lorraine, which was temporarily absorbed into France between 1641 and 1648. He painted mostly religious chia ...

created circa 1642. Horst Woldemar Janson & Anthony F. Janson. ''History of Art: The Western Tradition''. Prentice Hall (2003)
p. 608
. The painting depicts a young

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

with Saint Joseph, his earthly father.Ann Sutherland Harris. ''Seventeenth-Century Art and Architecture''. Laurence King Publishing (2005)
p266
. Joseph drills a piece of wood with an auger. The shape of the auger reflects the shape of the

Cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

and the geometry of the wood arrayed on the floor, set cross-wise to the seated child Christ, is a foreshadowing of the

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagi ...

. John Rupert Martin. ''Baroque''. Westview Press (1977)
p. 126-27
. John Rupert Martin writes that Jesus' patience represents "filial obedience and the acceptance of his destiny as martyr". This painting, created ca. 1642, is one of several tenebrist paintings by La Tour. Others include '' The Education of the Virgin'', the '' Penitent Magdalene'', and '' The Dream of Saint Joseph''. In all these works, a single, strong light source is a central element, surrounded by cast shadows. In both ''Joseph the Carpenter'' and ''The Education of the Virgin'', the young Christ is represented, hand raised, as if in

benediction A benediction ( Latin: ''bene'', well + ''dicere'', to speak) is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposit ...

, with the candlelight shining through the flesh as an

allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

reference to Christ as the " Light of the World."

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* 1645 paintings Paintings by Georges de La Tour Paintings depicting Jesus Paintings in the Louvre by French artists Paintings of Saint Joseph {{17C-painting-stub

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